The most famous families of bees: Bee family

In this article, we will learn about the types of families of bees and what is characterized by each of them

The most famous families of bees:

Family of honey bees (Apidae):

Honey bees are one of the largest families of bees that includes a wide range of species. Its name is derived from the Latin name for honey bees (Apis) and includes the types of bumble bees, carpenter bees, some types of cuckoo bees and orchid bees bees) found in the tropics.

The building bee family (Megachilidae):

Includes mason bees and leaf-cutter bees. Females of this family use mud or leaves or both to build nests in holes in wood or hollow branches. What distinguishes this family is that bees do not carry pollen on their legs rear but rather in the lower part of their stomachs.

Family of shiny bees (Halictidae):

It includes varieties of bees with bodies of bright green color or that have blue, copper, gold or even black shades. Most of the bees from this family build their nests in the ground, and some of them are secluded, while others may share the entrances to the nests, so that some types divide the work of guarding the entrances and The young are raised among themselves while the other species are social, with the mother and the beehive maker laying eggs while her daughters do the other work.

The family of worker bees (Andrenidae):

All members of this family build nests in the ground, so they are also called (miner bees) and are dark in color, black, red, or even bright blue or yellow. These types are characterized by the presence of soft velvet spots on their faces between their eyes and the base of the sensor organs. Most of its varieties are in early spring, while their young remain underground throughout the summer, fall and winter seasons and reappear the following spring when the flowers are in bloom.

Family of solitary bees (Colletidae):

It is a small family of solitary bees that carry pollen inside their stomach and are not covered with hair and build their nests in strong stems closely. Bee name (cellophane).

The phenomenon of sugar in bees:

Some bees may take, during their flights, some narcotic substances from ripe fruits in nature (such as ethanol).

It is a substance produced after some types of fruits are fermented and some of these substances are licked with their tongue, so they become (intoxicated) just like humans, and the effect of this substance continues for a period ranging from (40:48 hours).

What are the symptoms that affect bees?

The symptoms that occur in bees after consuming these (intoxicants) are similar to the symptoms that occur to humans after consuming intoxicants and become aggressive and harmful because they spoil honey because these narcotic substances lead to honey poisoning. But in every beehive there are bees equipped with what looks like sensors running (alarms) that sense the smell of drunk bees and fight them and keep them away from the hive, so they not only fight the enemies, but also fight everyone who poses a threat to the honey and the hive. And if this bee wakes up from its drunkenness, it is allowed to enter the hive directly, after the bees are sure that the toxic effect on them is gone for good. Even there are bees in the hive that put in order to observe this phenomenon and purify the hive of such bees that put the so-called ((bee bouncers)) and they stand defending and guarding the cell and watching very well the bee that takes intoxicants and works to expel it and if the ball returns, the “guards” will break her legs in order to prevent her from re-abusing intoxicants.